Bundle tie device

ABSTRACT

A bundle tie device comprises a loop through which a strip is fed and is guided therethrough by guide means provided by the loop and the strip. The strip has teeth on the top and bottom surfaces, each of the teeth has leading surfaces with a less acute angle than trailing surfaces. The strip is fed through the loop and guided around a bundle of wires or members to be bundles via a guide means of an applicator tool and the leading end of the strip is fed back through the loop whereupon the leading end of the strip is secured to the loop, then the strip is pulled with the teeth ratcheting along each other until the strip is tight around the bundle whereupon the teeth are in a meshed condition within the loop and a distance to either side, and the stored pressure in the bundle, by virtue of its configuration, aids in maintaining the teeth in this meshed and thereby locked condition although such pressure is not necessary. Other teeth are provided in a channel of the strip which are engaged by a feed means on the applicator to feed the strip through the loop and tighten the strip around the bundle. In a hand tie version the loop is prebonded to one end of the strip.

United States Patent Hoffman Apr. 4, 1972 [54] BUNDLE TIE DEVICE PrimaryExaminerDonald A. Griff'm [72] Invent Batman Hamburg Attomey-William J.Keating, Ronald D. Grefe, Gerald K. [73] Assignee: AMP Incorporated, H ib P Kita, Frederick W. Raring, Jay L. Seitchik and John P. Vandenbur 22Filed: Aug. 3, 1970 g 211 Appl. No.: 60,677 [57] ABSTRACT A bundle tiedevice comprises a loop through which a strip is fed and is guidedtherethrough by guide means provided by (5|. the p and the Strip. Thestrip has teeth on the p and bob 58 H d 71 73 74 tom surfaces, each ofthe teeth has leading surfaces with a less 1 2 5 PB 5 B A acute anglethan trailing surfaces. The strip is fed through the 8/ P loop andguided around a bundle of wires or members to be 73 73 20 TT bundles viaa guide means of an applicator tool and the leading end of the strip isfed back through the loop whereupon [56] References Cited the leadingend of the strip is secured to the loop, then the strip is pulled withthe teeth ratcheting along each other until UNITED STATES PATENTS thestrip is tight around the bundle whereupon the teeth are in 3,518,7277/1970 Eberle et al. ..24/16 PB a m h n i i n wi hin he loop and adistance to either 3 529 795 9/1970 v Niel I I 243 71 side, and thestored pressurein the bundle by virtue of its con- 3,340,630 9/1967Becker 40 21 c figuration, alds rnqmtammg the teeth m the {fleshed and3,489,076 1/1970 Countryman 24/ l 6 PB thereby locked condition althoughsuch pressure is not neces- 2,935,773 5/1960 Weckesser ..24/17 Asaryotherdtgethfarzpmvlded i fi i 3 5 q n 4 are engage y a ee means on eapp ca or o ee e s l'lp 3473768 10/1969 Plaseckl 2 H6 PB X through theloop and tighten the strip around the bundle. In a FQREIGN PATENTS 0APPLICATIONS hand tie version the loop is prebonded to one end of thestrip. 518,012 3/1953 Belgium ..24/16 PB 3 Claims, 12 Drawing FiguresPATENTEDAPR 4 I972 SHEET 1 [1F 2 BUNDLE TIE DEVICE This inventionrelates to tie devices and more particularly to tie devices for bundlingwires or other members.

A number of bundling devices are available to bundle wires so that thewires are neatly maintained in bundles and not disposed in a random andhaphazard manner. These prior art devices are one-piece with the loop oranchoring means being part of the strip. In some devices, anotherelement is provided in the loop to provide means for locking oranchoring the strip therein. The one-piece bundling devices areinjection molded which is quite costly since a number of different moldsare necessary to provide a range of sizes thereof. No means is providedon the strip to be engaged by feed means on an applicator to feed thestrip through the loop and tighten it around a bundle.

An object of the invention is to provide a bundle tie device having aloop and strip as separate elements.

Another object is the provision of guide means provided by the loop andthe strip to guide and position the strip as it is being movedtherethrough.

A further object is to provide teeth on the top and bottom surfaces ofthe strip which engage one another as the engaging parts of the stripare moved through the loop and they resist becoming disengaged when thestrip has been tightly drawn around the bundles of wires.

An additional object is the provision of additional teeth for engagementby feed means of applicator means to feed the strip through the loop anddraw the strip tight around a bundle of wires while the parts of thestrip that are moved relative to each other within the loop areratcheted along each other.

A still further object is to provide means on the loop and the strip tolock one end of the strip within the loop.

Still another object is the provision of means on the loop to mount theloop on a mounting means or in an aperture of the mounting means.

Other objects and attainments of the present invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings inwhich there are shown and described illustrative embodiments of theinvention; it is to be understood, however, that these embodiments arenot intended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention but aregiven for purposes of illustration in order that others skilled in theart may fully understand the invention and the principles thereof andthe manner of applying it in practical use so that they may modify it invarious forms, each as may be best suited to the conditions ofaparticular use.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a part perspective view of a bundle of wires bundled togetherby a bundling device;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view ofa strip ofthe bundling device;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the loop and a cross-sectionalview of the strip in an overlapping position in the loop;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along lines 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6-8 illustrate application of the bundle tie device around abundle of wires;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the formation of the loops;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment with a loop,having mounting means thereon, bonded to the strip;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 10 but with mounting meanson the loop; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an identification clip for attachmentto the tie strip.

Turning now to the drawings, and especially FIGS. 1-5, a bundle tiedevice BTD includes a strip 1 and a loop 2 which are preferablyextrusion-molded from a suitable plastic material such as, for example,nylon; other plastic materials, of course, can be utilized, andsubsequently, subjected to a rolling operation to impart the toothedconfiguration thereto.

Strip 1 is provided with a central channel 3 having feed teeth 4disposed therealong. Teeth 4 have leading and trailing surfaces 5 withopposite by equal angular dispositions relative to the strip. Latchingteeth 6 are provided in the top surface of strip 1 adjacent channel 3and similar latching teeth 7 are provided in the bottom surface of thestrip in alignment with the top surface teeth. The teeth 4, 6, and 7 areformed in strip 1, preferably by a rolling operation, after strip 1 hasbeen extruded. Each of teeth 6 in the top surface has a leading surface8 and a trailing surface 9 each of which preferably form acute angleswith strip 1, the leading surface 8 forming a smaller angle with strip 1than the trailing surface 9. The reverse arrangement is true on teeth 7and leading surface 10 preferably forms a larger angle with strip 1 thantrailing surface 11 so that the top surface teeth 6 can ratchet alongbottom surface teeth 7 where the parts of strip 1 that move relative toeach other are disposed in loop 2 and until strip 1 has been tightlydrawn around a bundle of wires whereupon the teeth 6 and 7 are disposedin a permanent latching position as described in greater detailhereinafter. However, the trailing sides 9 and 11 of teeth 6 and 7,respectively can be any combination of perpendicularity or undercut fromperpendicularity.

Loop 2 has an opening 12 provided with a centrally disposed lug 13extending outwardly from a top surface thereof. Lug l3 mates withchannel 3 when strip 1 is fed into opening 12 to guide the movement ofstrip 1 through loop 2. If desired, a projection (not shown) may beprovided in the bottom surface of strip 1 so that such projection willmate with channel 3 when the leading end of strip 1 is ratcheted alongthe strip in loop 2 in order to guide the leading end of the strip as itbegins to engage the part of the strip in loop 2. If this projection isprovided on the bottom surface of strip 1, then a channel will have tobe provided in the opening 12 opposite lug 13 to accommodate theprojection.

Loop 2 is provided with an aperture 14 in communication with opening 12and this serves to permit cutting or chisel blades 15 of an applicator(not shown) to move within aperture 14 normal to the insertion axis ofopening 12 and form sections 16 out of the bottom part of strip 1 afterthe leading end of strip 1 has been fed in along the top or trailingpart of strip 1 disposed in loop 2 thereby locking the leading end ofthe strip within loop 2.

In operation, as illustrated in FIGS. 6-8, a split clam-shell guidemeans 17 of the applicator is positioned around wires W and a loop 2 ispositioned adjacent an upper end of the guide means. The applicator hasa feed means (not shown) which is provided with teeth for engagementwith feed teeth 4 of strip 1 of random length that can be fed from areel on the applicator. The feed means feeds the strip through loop 2with lug 13 and channel 3 guiding the strip within loop 2 and the stripis guided around the wire bundle via guide means 17 and back into andthrough loop 2 beneath the strip portion disposed in loop 2 and untilthe leading end extends just beyond the front end of loop 2. At thispoint, chisel blades 15 form out sections 16 to lock the leading end ofthe strip within loop 2, then the applicator applies tension on thestrip in the opposite direction so that the top part of the strip isratcheted along the bottom locked part of strip 1 (in the direction ofarrow A) until sufficient tension has been applied to the strip tobundle the wires W into a tight bundle, the pressure of the bundleproviding sufficient expansion pressure to cause teeth 6 and 7, inengagement within loop 2, to remain in engagement so long as thispressure is in existence due to the angular orientation of the matedteeth. The strip is then severed from the bundle tie device adjacent theouter end of loop 2.

The operation is repeated at other locations along the wires therebybundling the wires in a neat bundle.

FIG. 9 illustrates loops formed in a strip as a result of extrusion andfabricating techniques. Cutting blades are used to cut the strip intosegments connected together and apertures 14 are blanked therein. Thestrip of loops 2 can be fed one at a time adjacent guide means 17 of theapplicator while strip 1 is fed therethrough to perform the bundlingoperation as described above.

Loop 20 of FIG. is a modification of loop 2 and is the same as loop 2except that loop 2a does not require aperture 14 (FIG. 6) since loop 2is bonded to strip 1 and is provided with stiffly flexiblearcuate-shaped legs 18 which have holes 19 therein for mounting thebundle tie device BTDa on a mounting member. A hollow spade-shapedmember 20 is provided on loop 2a between legs 18, and it has shoulders21. The rounded nose 22 of member 20 can be pushed through an aperturein a mounting panel with shoulders 21 engaging one side of the panelwhile legs 18 engage the other side of the panel. The stiffly flexiblenature of the segments of member 20 permits accommodating various sizesof apertures in the mounting panels and the legs 18 permit accommodationof various thicknesses of the mounting panels.

Thus, legs 18 and member 20 on loops 2a constitute mounting means formounting the bundle of wires after the bundling operations have beenperformed onto a mounting panel or the like.

in FIG. 11 is shown bundle tie device BTDb similar to that shown in FIG.10 but without panel mounting means on the loop 2b.

FIG. 12 illustrates an identification clip lC having depending legs 24with strip retaining ledges 26 thereon. Such clip is adapted to beslidably attached to strip 1 and can be prestamped with identifyingindicia or other information.

it will, therefore, be appreciated that the aforementioned and otherdesirable objects have been achieved; however, it should be emphasizedthat the particular embodiments of the invention, which are shown anddescribed herein, are intended as merely illustrative and not asrestrictive of the invention.

The invention is claimed in accordance with the following:

1. A bundle tie device for bundling wires or the like comprising a striphaving a channel in one surface and latching teeth in the one surfaceadjacent said channel and in another surface in alignment with the teethof the one surface, said latching teeth in the surfaces having leadingand trailing surfaces, the leading surfaces of the latching teeth of theone surface making a smaller angle with the strip than the trailingsurfaces thereof while the leading surfaces of the latching teeth of theother surface make a larger angle with the strip than the trailingsurfaces thereof, and a separate loop within which overlapping segmentsof said strip are disposed with the latching teeth in latchingengagement when said bundle tie device is tightly disposed around abundle of wires.

2. A bundle tie device for bundling wires or the like comprising a striphaving a channel in one surface and latching teeth in the one surfaceadjacent said channel and in another surface in alignment with the teethof the one surface, and a separate loop within which overlappingsegments of said strip are disposed with the latching teeth in latchingengagement when said bundle tie device is tightly disposed around abundle of wires, and stiffly flexible legs of arcuate configurationextending outwardly from said loop, and a hollow spadeshaped memberhaving shoulder means extending outwardly from said loop between saidlegs.

3. A method of bundling wires comprising the steps of placing guidemeans around a number of wires, positioning a loop adjacent one end ofsaid guide means, feeding a strip having latching teeth on top andbottom surfaces through said loop and along said guide means until aleading end of said strip is disposed in said loop with said latchingteeth of the sections of said strip in said loop in engagement, securingsaid leading end in said loop by forming sections out from the leadingend of said strip between spaced sections of a bottom of said loop,pulling the strip outside of said guide means until the wires aretightly bundled, and severing said strip adjacent an outer end of saidloop.

1. A bundle tie device for bundling wires or the like comprising a striphaving a channel in one surface and latching teeth in the one surfaceadjacent said channel and in another surface in alignment with the teethof the one surface, said latching teeth in the surfaces having leadingand trailing surfaces, the leading surfaces of the latching teeth of theone surface making a smaller angle with the strip than the trailingsurfaces thereof while the leading surfaces of the latching teeth of theother surface make a larger angle with the strip than the trailingsurfaces thereof, and a separate loop within which overlapping segmentsof said strip are disposed with the latching teeth in latchingengagement when said bundle tie device is tightly disposed around abundle of wires.
 2. A bundle tie device for bundling wires or the likecomprising a strip having a channel in one surface and latching teeth inthe one surface adjacent said channel and in another surface inalignment with the teeth of the one surface, and a separate loop withinwhich overlapping segments of said strip are disposed with the latchingteeth in latching engagement when said bundle tie device is tightlydisposed around a bundle of wires, and stiffly flexible legs of arcuateconfiguration extending outwardly from said loop, and a hollowspade-shaped member having shoulder means extending outwardly from saidloop between said legs.
 3. A method of bundling wires comprising thesteps of placing guide means around a number of wires, positioning aloop adjacent one end of said guide means, feeding a strip havinglatching teeth on top and bottom surfaces through said loop and alongsaid guide means until a leading end of said strip is disposed in saidloop with said latching teeth of the sections of said strip in said loopin engagement, securing said leading end in said loop by formingsections out from the leading end of said strip between spaced sectionsof a bottom of said loop, pulling the strip outside of said guide meansuntil the wires are tightly bundled, and severing said strip adjacent anouter end of said loop.